Broadway Bridges - Repairs

http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/new...old_village_set_to_close_for_13_weeks/?ref=mr
A MAIN road leading into the Cotswold village of Broadway is set to close for 13 weeks over the summer months.

Station Road, the main route into the popular tourist location from Evesham, will shut on Monday, June 16, as the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway replaces the train bridge over the road.

But the move has angered some parish councillors who say they were not consulted about the closure.

Cllr Barrie Parmenter said he was disappointed. "We had no consultation with anybody," he said.

"Highways went ahead and we weren't told at all. No one was consulted at all.

"They could lift the bridge off but they are saying it will cost them too much."

The GWR say they believed this was the role of the Worcestershire County Council highways department.

Alan Bielby, volunteer chairman of the GWR, said: "The bridge hasn't been used for about 50 years. We are slowing opening the line from Toddington back to Broadway.

"It's inevitable the bridge work has to go ahead and we have nearly raised the £500,000 to do this. This is part of a five bridge program of work.

"I have sympathy for the parish council and we looked at all sorts of alternatives. It is pretty much double the cost to do the work without the closure.
"We don't want to upset anyone but the job has to be done."


Mr Bielby added his main concern was for Michael Halling, who owns the garage on Station Road, and he encouraged people to support the business.

Yet Mr Halling remained positive, saying: "It perhaps will have an affect on our business but we are looking forward to working through it and we have a positive attitude to it happening because it may have a long term benefit. We are relying on people still coming and using the business and the petrol forecourt."

During the closure the traffic will now be diverted through Childswickham and Cllr Parmenter says this is also a safety concern.

"If we have caravans and lorries down there they will end up on the wrong side of the road," he added.

Despite the concerns Worcestershire County Council said it had followed the normal process including issuing formal notices in local papers, notices onsite and online.

A spokesman said: "The county council has scheduled this road closure to minimise disruption and fit around other works and events taking between now and the end of the year.

"This includes work on the highway such as resurfacing, drainage works and events such as the Tour Britain passing through Broadway and two festivals as well as avoiding the busy run up to the Christmas period and Boxing Day Hunt.

"We are also working closely with the contractor to encourage the shortest possible closure time."

Isn't Cllr Parmenter aware that the work has been ongoing for, what is it, 5 years, and that the necessity for a road closure was almost inevitable?

Not only that but he also questions the driving abilities of those propelling large vehicles or towing caravans.

Typical local Journo! Mentions Councillors (in the plural) but only quotes one. Also makes mention to 'replace' the bridge when, in fact, it is being repaired.

Supportive comments from Mr Halling, who runs the fuel station/mini store alongside the entrance driveway to Broadway Station. Yes, he will lose revenue from passing motorists but a significant proportion of his income (I would suggest) comes from the ad-hoc purchases of those that live in the Park Homes sites in Childswickam and are in easy walking distance of his outlet.

Seemingly whilst Mr Halling can see the long term benefit, Cllr Parmenter cannot.

 

Didn't take long, sounds like it was only the one councillor as you say though. Do parish councillors have to be told about road closures? The highways people say they did everything normally, so apparently not, I'm which case, do they complain every time a road is shut? Madness. Are road closures happening on any of the others? Can't remember at the moment, I'm sure I read somewhere thpugh

 

The Evesham Journal, like most local newspapers, isn't quite right, as usual. Station Road is quite busy at times but it is not the main road into Broadway. It used to be until the Broadway by-pass was built. Traffic is now signposted into the village via the by-pass route. My family lived on Station Road until 2005 so I do have knowledge of the area. I just wish I lived on Stn Road now!

The GWSR, particularly the Broadway Stn Group, has a very close network with Broadway citizens and have publicised the rebuilding of the Railway at great length. However, as previous posters have intimated, road closures notifications are part of the County local authority's bailiwick. All of the "Bridges to Broadway" which have public roads under them (4 IIRC) will need to be closed at some stage. Clearly Station Road Bridge is the biggest and the one likely to cause the most inconvenience to highway users. Little Buckland Bridge carries the railway over a minor road but will need considerable repairs. Childswickham Road bridge is in a less parlous state although the road itself is reasonably busy at times.
Road closures are always inconvenient but they are common; the mighty A1 close to me can regularly be closed (albeit overnight) for repairs and not just bridge repairs.

 

There was a long-term bridge closure here in Wiltshire over the GWML that was endlessly in and out of the BBC Wiltshire news for several months. It is obviously not ideal if you have a local business that is effected by a diminution in passing trade, but in the end, all it takes is a local councillor out to make a stir about how he/she is "sticking up" for the residents. Hopefully, most people in the area can see the bigger picture of the likely growth in trade that linking the railway to Broadway will have.

Tom

 

For those interested in progress with the repairs of the 5 bridges, a new blog has been set up by 2 volunteers.
You can read all about it here:

http://bridgestobroadway.blogspot.co.uk/

The bridge repair contract has been awarded, and work has started. This is a bit of a punt, as the GWSR is still £78.000 short on its share appeal. If you haven't already bought some shares, or have saved up a bit more in the meantime, do please help.

 

As has been commented, Station Road is not the main route into the village now and as long as it and Childswickham Road are not closed at the the same time each offers a fairly easy diversion for the other by cutting down Pennylands bank. Cllr Parmenter (who I've never heard off until now) is whinging for nowt and being very short-sighted.

 

usual tripe..i couldn't even find Broadway it is so bypasssed

 

Two questions to Broadway followers:

Who knows the date of the big bridge strike in 1975? I would like more info, and find a newspaper article with a photograph.

Is there anyone with anecdotes, photographs, paperwork, facts about the station while it was still in operation?

The reason for the questions is - we would like to assemble an archive about the station in a single place, and if we find enough facts and photographs, we may publish them in book form to raise funds for the GWSR.

The station was closed so long ago now, it is very difficult to find anyone who remembers it. We don't even know the name of the last stationmaster !

Many thanks for your help.

 

I think the best idea Breva would be to go to the Broadway station site on either a Saturday or a Wednesday and ask for Jo Roesen, he helps do the blog with Bill Britton, does the Cheltenham racecourse platform blog, co writes the new bridges blog, manages the Broadway station website and has quite a collection of photographs of Broadway, bits of pottery found there, and a fair amount of knowledge. I'll try and find a date for the bridge strike, I'm sure I've read about it somewhere, might not be that one though, there have been so many!

 

OOPS, just looked at Breva's profile, hi Jo

 

Alex. Do keep up!

Going back to the earlier question, at an 'open evening' at Broadway a couple of years ago someone was introduced as being an 'ex-signalman' at Broadway. The person was obviously quite elderly and perhaps not with the best of mobility but, did anyone get contact details?

Another avenue to pursue might be an offer that appeared on a Genealogy forum that I follow where Swindon Libraries contributed, some 5 years ago, the following,

Perhaps another source of information?

 

A subscription to ancestry.co.uk might be helpful, they have a section dedicated to railway employees, not sure if you'd have enough information with that though, depends if any dates such as date of employment and retirement or reallocation re known. I expect you've done this, but local newspapers, for both the bridge and stationmaster, if it was a slow day for news you might get lucky. The Cheltenham chronicle looks like it might be worth a look, became the Gloucestershire chronicle in January 1975. would British rail made a record of the bridge strike? I don't know where later records like this are, NRM, or still locked away in a government building?

 

Hello Alex, it is indeed me . Breva was the name of my Moto Guzzi motorbike.... I miss her.
You must come round and introduce yourself, would be fun. Any Wednesday or Saturday.

Ken, I did meet the chap you are thinking of, and he was kind enough to give me some snaps of Winchcombe and Toddington. He never did Broadway, alas.

I have a copy of the repair drawing BR did for the 1975 bridge strike, the big one. The lorry transporting the digger broke into 3 pieces ! But no one I speak to knows the date of the strike itself. Help !

 

I keep meaning to come and have a look, I have vague recollections of the site before any work started, perhaps I'll make it there when the signal bracket arrives. Always enjoy the blogs though, even more to look at now!

 

Just a thought - would it make sense, if this thread becomes the default Broadway extension thread, to give it a more positive title? Obviously, the somewhat NIMBY-ish moans are a legitimate part of the story - but hopefully ultimately a rather small part. It would be sad if, in say a few years time, preparations were under way for a triumphal return to Broadway, but the main thread here, by then perhaps a hundred pages long, went under the Googlejuice of "Broadway - the moans..."!

Tom

 

There are a couple of threads about the broadway extension, I started one when the share offer was released which got a few up to a few pages, perhaps they should be merged under the original title which was more descriptive?

 

Doesn't add much to the discussion, but my wife's great-great aunt worked at Broadway station for many years. Despite having done several years of family treeing we've never looked up any records for her so it'd be interesting to get round to at some point (we've let the Ancestry lapse for now).

 

I had a quick look at the records on Ancestry, but unfortunately they only date up to 1956 - there may be useful information there on earlier periods but nothing that late.

 

I read that too but in other places it said 1963, as I don't have an account I couldnt check though.